Non-root top dressing of tomato in irrigated conditions of the Republic of Kalmykia

The aim of research is to study the effect of foliar top dressing with the "Citovit"chelated micronutrient fertilizer on tomato productivity under irrigation in the soil and climatic conditions of the Republic of Kalmykia. Field research was carried out in the Yashkul Region of the Republic of Kalmykia on the Astrahanskij tomato variety. The experimental scheme included options for foliar feeding: 1) control (water treatment); 2) "Citovit" (2 l/ha); 3) urea (1 %) (reference); 4) "Citovit" (2 l/ha) + urea (1 %). The consumption of the working solution is 300 l/ha. The experiment was repeated four times. The area of the experimental plot is 25 m2, the accounting plot is 12 m2. The efficiency of foliar feeding of tomato plants with a chelated micronutrient fertilizer "Citovit", containing phosphorus and potassium in an easily accessible form for plants, has been revealed. It was found that the use of four-fold foliar feeding "Citovit" promoted the formation of maximum biometric parameters of plants and increased the number of fruit set on the plant. In the fruiting phase, the number of shoots on the plant increased by 6.4 pieces, leaves - by 17.2, and fruits by 7.5 pieces versus control. An extension of the period of active work of leaves with foliar dressing was noted, during the period of mass fruiting in the variant with foliar dressing "Citovit" and when it was used together with urea, the leaf area exceeded the control by 6.8-7.0 thousand m2/ha. It was established that foliar dressing is an effective technique for tomato cultivation in irrigated conditions of the arid climate of the Republic of Kalmykia, significantly increasing productivity. The yield of tomato variety Astrahanskij under the influence of foliar dressing "Citovit" (2 l/ha) increased by 12.4 % in comparison with the control and exceeded the reference by 2.9 % (urea 1 %). The combined use of urea and "Citovit" in the treatments promoted the growth of the leaf surface, but did not provide a reliable increase in yield compared to top dressing with "Citovit" alone.